1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



135 



VT. BOAKD OF AGRICTJLTURE. 



Under an act passed by the Legislature of the 

 State, the following gentlemen were nominated by 

 the Governor, and confirmed liy the Senate, as a 

 Board of Agriculture, Mining and Statistics : — 



Gov. John W. Stewart, ex-offido, Pres. ; James 

 B. Angell, ex-offido, ex-Gov. *F. Holbrook, N. B. 

 Safford, C. H. Heath, A. B. Halbert, P. W. Hyde, 

 Z. E. Jameson. 



Agreeably to a call of the Governor, the members 

 of the Board met at Burlington, Jan. 19, for the 

 choice of Secretary, for the completion of the or- 

 ganization, and preparation for its work. Hon. P. 

 W. Hyde and Hon. C. H. Heath of the Frst Con- 

 gi'cssional District; N. B. Safford, Esq., of the 

 Second District ; and Hon. A. B. Halbeit and Z. 

 E. Jameson, Esq., of the Third District, together 

 with the Governor and President Angell, ex-offido, 

 were present, being all the members except Gov. 

 Holbrook, who declines to serve upon the Board. 

 The Board made choice of Prof. Peter Collier, of 

 the University and State Agricultural College, as 

 their Secretary. 



The history Of the Boards of Agriculture in other 

 States has sho^^^l that their efficiency depends on 

 the Secretarj'. He is the managing and working 

 agent of the Board. He should be not only a 

 worker himself, but one that has the knack of 

 setting others at work and of keeping them at it. 

 If he has "other fish to fry," the agricultural trout 

 is apt to be poorly served. If he has other otfices 

 to fill, or other business to transact, or is elected 

 because he is somebody's friend that must be pro- 

 vided for, the drudgery of Secretarj^ship is likely to 

 be neglected, or postponed till the next year or 

 even later, as in the case of the Board of New 

 York, and some other States. 



The gentleman elected Secretary of the Vermont 

 Board of Agricnlture is Professor of Chemistry in 

 the Agi'icultural College at Burlington, and the 

 Free Press, of that city, in congratulating the Board 

 on securing his services says : — 



Prof. Collier has very fine qualifications for the 

 position. He is practically as Avell as scientifically 

 familiar with agricultural aftiiirs, as those who 

 have heard the part taken bj^ him in the discus- 

 sions of the Dairymen's Association have per- 

 ceived. He has practical as well as scientific 

 knowledge of mining. He is, in fact, thoroughly 

 informed in most of the practical sciences, and has 

 an acquaintance with gentlemen engaged in in- 

 vestigations such as the Board is expected to pur- 

 sue, which cannot ^ail to be of high value to the 

 Boaixl. He is a young man, and will bring to his 

 position enthusiastic interest in the work of the 

 Board, and in the welfare of the State. 



Vermont State Agricultural Society. — At a 

 meeting of the Directors of this Society at Bellows 

 Falls, January 2.5, a Committee was appointed, as 

 "we learn from the Times, to locate the next State 

 Fair, consisting of J. W. Colburn, of Springfield ; 

 John Gregory, of Northfield, and James A. Shedd, 

 of Burlington. The competing places for the loca- 

 tion of the Fair are Rutland and White Biver Junc- 



tion. George Ilami^iond, of Middlebury, and H. 

 M. Hall, of Burke were elected Directors to till the 

 vacancies caused by the death of Henry Keyes and 

 Edwin Hammond. Resolutions of respect for the 

 memory of Edwin Hammond were adopted, and 

 appropriate remarks made by Hon. John Gregory, 

 Hon. Crosby Miller and Henry Clark. 



Vermont Horse Stock Company. — The annual 



meeting of this Association was held at Bellows 



Falls, January 25. The Times says the amount of 



stock already subscribed is over f 28,000, and the 



location of the stock fann is to be decided upon 



during the next thirty days, and will be given to 



the County which subscribes the most stock, other 



things being equal. The following officers were 



chosen for the year ensuing : — 



President — H. G. Root, of Beniiiiia;ton ; Vice Presi 

 denti—Coh J. B. Muad, of Raiidolpir; Harluy M. Hall, 

 of East Burke; Seeretary—h.'V. Tucker, of Royalton. 

 Treasurei — Henry C. Horton, of Vergeunes. 



PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS, 



[Furnished for the New Englapjd Farmer, ^by W. 



D. Brown, Concord, Mass.] 



— It is poor economy to reset thin wheel tires. 



— Every farmer should have a brand to mark his 

 cattle and tools. It Mill save its cost, often. 



— A wagon shed, centrally located and easy of 

 access, is a great convenience. It is an investment 

 that will pay. 



— A barn, located square up. to the highway, like 

 a city block, is worth about half price. No land is 

 too valuable for buildings. 



— Every prudent farmer will avail himself of the 

 comparative leisure of winter, to put every vehicle 

 and implement in complete repair. 



— Don't live another year without a tool room. 

 It will save hours of vexatious search for forks and 

 shovels, that should be ready without a moment's 

 delay. 



— Two dollars a day for a farm hand, makes it 

 important that he should have good tools to work 

 with. They cost considerable. Insist that he use 

 them for the purpose for which they are made. 



— If new tools, unpainted, are soaked with raw, 

 linseed oil, they will work easier, and last longer. 

 Why don't manufacturers do it by the wholesale ? 



— It seems reasonable that a laboring horse should 

 have a room to lie in at night, where he can turn 

 over and shift about. 



— If your colts are hard to get into the bam, after 

 their daily exercise, let them find a few oats in their 

 manger after coming in, and that trouble is over. 



— The reason why the horse rubs otf his blanket 

 nights, is, the girth hurts him. Have it padded and 

 looser, and fasten the blanket partly under the 

 breast, and perhaps by a crupper. 



— The elliptic springs on most freight wagons are 

 too light, and often nearly close with the load. 



